HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-08-ARTS-minLEXINGTON COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS
September 8, 2014 - 7pm
Reed Room, Town Offices
PRESENT: Cristina Burwell, Diana South, Leslie Masson, Jean Hart, Zoe Perry -Wood, Emily Passman
ABSENT:Regie Gibson O'Hare, Jessie Steigerwald, Cheryl Meadow
Cristina Burwell called the meeting to order at 7:24pm . Minutes were taken by Treasurer Diana South
SECRETARY'S REPORT:
Leslie Masson moved, and Jean Hart seconded a motion to approve minutes from the June meeting. All
approved them.
TREASURER'S REPORT: Diana South
Section 1 of the Annual Report has been finalized with the town accountant and is ready to submit:
• Account Balance at end of period (6/30/14): $7649.67
• Local Revenue at end of period (6/30/14): $2510.23
We expect to have $1005 available from 2013 grant year to give out in 2015 in addition to state funds.
Final numbers will be available in December.
Many grantees from 2014 haven't requested money yet, and they have until the end of February.
Action: Diana and Cristina will get together to create a list of grantees who have already
had their event and compose a letter for review at the next meeting.
CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Cristina Burwell
Our LCC has a new password for the MCC site. This was emailed to council members in June, and
Cristina will be resending the email with this password to council members this week.
LCA has a new email address that has originated from the town as a method to archive correspondence.
Conversations and announcements that should be recorded must copy that email address, and all
communications from the LCA will be sent from this email address. The email address is
artscouncil(lexingtonma , gov and is to be maintained by the Chair. The previously - existing email
(artslexingtongmail , com) will continue to be the main email for the council until Cristina has a better
understanding of how the new email works and can begin using it with regularity.
Action: Cristina to resend everyone the new password
NEW BUSINESS:
Membership
New LCA appointments: The Selectmen's Office has appointment application of Matt Pronchick, which
the Council will be recommending.
Action: Cristina to send an email to Matt to confirm as he was not at tonight's meeting.
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This leaves one vacancy on the Council. We would like to find new members to increase the council's
diversity and representation of the town, and Council members were asked to pass along any
recommendations to Cristina as soon as possible. Currently the Council is heavy on visual arts and would
be better balanced with appointees in the literature, music, dance and drama disciplines.
Cristina mentioned an email that came in from a HS student who is interested in participating in the
Council. There was discussion about age limits for voting members. Members pointed out the more
important issue of having skills that could further the work of the committee. The student who emailed
was encouraged to attend meetings and given the schedule and links to the Council's online presence.
Action: Cristina will send out a poll to find out if Mondays are still good days or if we
could change nights to accommodate new members.
Action: Council members to send Cristina any names of potential new members.
Action: Zoe to contact Regie to confirm he is still interested in being a Council member.
Grants
Grant writing workshop: Zoe Perry -Wood did one last year, and brought examples of funded grants,
talked about the general philosophy of what we want to grant and how we prioritize funding. She
encouraged people to ask questions and help them improve their applications. Met at LACS. Publicized
through the Minuteman, patch, Lexington email lists, Lexington Common, etc.
The grant - writing workshop was decided to be held Monday, September 29 at 7pm (with back -up of
September 30th), location permitting.
Action: Jean to find a list of websites and publicity resources that Lexington residents
view. Jean will publish an announcement for the workshop.
Action: Zoe and Cristina to lead the grant writing workshop.
Action: Send an email to all previous grant applicants to tell them about the workshop
Action: Zoe and Cristina to update press release and flier for grant writing workshop
The group brainstormed about the things it would like to see come in for a grant request. One theme
was promoting individual artists, with a reference to NC Arts Council goals.
Website
Home page layout: Left Announcements — middle is what's currently happening — right is the blog
Action: Monthly blog update needed. Emily will send new graphic to Zoe for publication
to the website.
Action: Need someone to write a monthly blog (read: listing of Lexington cultural
events). Can get event info from the town calendar. Zoe will teach two people how to
update the blog (Diana and ?)
Action: Send an email or post card to potential grant applicants that we would like to see
submit a proposal. Goal for publication to be sent on the 18th, so must be ready on Sept
15. Get info to Jean by Friday Sept 12.
Action: Zoe to update website with most recent council photo and new grant deadline
Gallery Space:
Cristina updated the group on when the report went out, and its process of waiting for Interiors Comm.
to meet and report back. While the report had numerous recommendations for the Community Center,
the major topics that will need LCA contribution are: Galleries of rotating art, a permanent artwork
collection, and opening day artwork and activities. It is anticipated that the next step will need Council
members stepping up to get involved in the planning process of one or more of these three topics come
the end of September.
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MCC Artist Fellowship grants were briefly mentioned as being highly competitive, and each year rotating
through funding only one of several disciplines (e.g., Photography).
OLD BUSINESS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Next meeting: Oct 20, 2014 7pm. New date should be noted as it is the THIRD Monday of the month.
This was changed to accommodate the second Monday being Columbus Day holiday, and after the 10/15
grant deadline.
Adjourned: 9:01
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